Spectacled hooded snake explained

The spectacled hooded snake (Suta spectabilis), also known commonly as the Port Lincoln snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to central-southern Australia. There are three recognized subspecies.

Geographic range

S. spectabilis is found in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.^[1]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of S. spectabilis are grassland and shrubland.

Description

Adults of S. spectabilis have an average snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 26.5cm (10.4inches), and the length of the tail is on average 12.5% SVL. The maximum recorded SVL is 35.6cm (14inches).

Reproduction

S. spectabilis is viviparous.^[1]

Subspecies

Including the nominotypical subspecies, three subspecies are recognized as being valid.^[1]

• Suta spectabilis bushi
• Suta spectabilis nullarbor
• Suta spectabilis spectabilis

Nota bene

A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Parasuta.

Etymology

The subspecific name, bushi, is in honor of Australian herpetologist Brian Gordon Bush (born 1947).^[2]

Further reading

• Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. .
• Krefft G (1869). The Snakes of Australia; an Illustrative and Descriptive Catalogue of All the Known Species. Sydney: Thomas Richards, Government Printer. xxv + 100 pp. + Plates I-XII. (Hoplocephalus spectabilis, new species, p. 61 + Plate XII, figure 4).
• Storr GM (1981). "The Denisonia gouldii species-group (Serpentes, Elapidae) in Western Australia". Records of the Western Australian Museum 8 (4): 501–515. (Denisonia spectabilis nullarbor, new subspecies, pp. 512–513, Figure 6).
• Storr GM (1988). "A new Rhinoplocephalus (Serpentes: Elapidae) from Western Australia". Rec. Western Australian Mus. 14 (1): 137–138. (Rhinoplocephalus spectabilis bushi, new subspecies).
• Wilson, Steve

Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. .

Notes and References

1. www.reptile-database.org.
2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Suta spectabilis bushi, p. 44).